Clock signal generators having a reduced power feedback clock path and methods for generating clocks

ABSTRACT

Memories, clock generators and methods for providing an output clock signal are disclosed. One such method includes delaying a buffered clock signal by an adjustable delay to provide an output clock signal, providing a feedback clock signal from the output clock signal, and adjusting a duty cycle of the buffered clock signal based at least in part on the feedback clock signal. An example clock generator includes a forward clock path configured to provide a delayed output clock signal from a clock driver circuit, and further includes a feedback clock path configured to provide a feedback clock signal based at least in part on the delayed output clock signal, for example, frequency dividing the delayed output clock signal. The feedback clock path further configured to control adjustment a duty cycle of the buffered input clock signal based at least in part on the feedback clock signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/945,607, filed on Jul. 18, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/541,578, filed Jul. 3, 2012, and issuedas U.S. Pat. No. 8,493,104 on Jul. 23, 2013, which is a divisional ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/757,597, filed Apr. 9, 2010, andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,461,889 on Jun. 11, 2013. These applicationsand patents are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety andfor any purpose.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to clock signalgenerators, and more specifically, to clock signal generators havingfeedback clock paths.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Clock signals are often used in electronic circuits for timing internaloperation of various circuits necessary to execute an operation. Forexample, in synchronous memories, external clock signals are provided tothe memory and internally distributed to different circuits of thecircuit to carry out memory operations.

FIG. 1 illustrates a clock generator circuit 100 that includes adelay-locked loop (DLL) and duty-cycle correction (DCC) circuit. The DLLprovides (e.g. generates) an output clock signal that is in phase with areference input clock signal. The DCC circuit corrects a duty cycledistortion (i.e., duty cycle other than 50%) of the clock signal. Theclock generator circuit 100 includes an input buffer circuit 104 thatreceives an input clock signal and buffers the same to provide abuffered input clock signal to a coarse delay line circuit 108. Thedelay of the coarse delay line circuit 108 can be adjusted to add delayto the buffered input clock signal. A fine delay line circuit 112receives the coarsely delayed clock signal and can be adjusted to addfiner delay. The coarsely and finely delayed clock signal is thenprovided to a DCC adjustment circuit 116 that alters the duty cycle ofthe clock signal to provide a duty cycle corrected clock signal. Astatic tOH trim circuit 120 coupled to the DCC adjustment circuit 116provides tOH trim (i.e., to trim static duty cycle of the clock signal)to provide a tOH trimmed clock signal that is driven by a clock drivercircuit 124 to provide an output clock signal.

The output clock signal is provided to a clock divider circuit 218 toprovide a divided clock signal having a lower clock frequency than theoutput clock signal. A delay model 132 is coupled to receive the trimmedclock signal and add a model delay representing propagation delaysbetween the input and output of the clock generator 100. A phasedetector detects a phase difference between the model delayed clocksignal and the output of the input buffer circuit 104. In response aphase difference signal is provided to a delay line control circuit 138,which provides delay control signals to set the adjustable delay of thecoarse and fine delay lines 108, 112 to reduce the detected phasedifference. The phase difference is reduced until the model delay clocksignal and the buffered input clock signal are in phase.

A forward clock path of the clock generator circuit 100 includes theinput buffer circuit 104, coarse and fine delay line circuits 108, 112,the clock driver circuit 124, the DCC adjustment circuit 116, the statictOH trim circuit 120 and the a clock driver circuit 124. Each of thesecircuits include transistor circuitry which introduce propagation delayto the clock signal, are susceptible to varying performance due tovariations in operating and process conditions, and decreaseresponsiveness of the output clock signal to changes in coarse and finedelay. For example, the DCC adjustment circuit 116 may have 12 gates(i.e. transistors) when it is enabled to correct duty-cycle error, thestatic tOH trim circuit 120 may have 4 gates, and the clock drivercircuit 124 may have 2gates. A total of 18 gates are added after thefine delay line 112 to the forward path. Where clock stability and/orresponsive performance are desired, a clock generator circuit presentingthese problems in the forward clock path may be undesirable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional clock generator circuit.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a clock generator circuit according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a clock generator circuit according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a clock generator circuit according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a clock divider circuit according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6A is a block diagram of the clock divider circuit of FIG. 5configured to divide a clock signal by 3. FIG. 6B is a block diagram ofthe clock divider circuit of FIG. 5 configured to divide a clock signalby 4. FIG. 6C is a timing diagram of various signals during operation ofthe clock divider circuit configured as illustrated in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a clock divider circuit according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8A is a block diagram of the clock divider circuit of FIG. 7configured to divide a clock signal by 3. FIG. 8B is a timing diagram ofvarious signals during operation of the clock divider circuit configuredas illustrated in FIG. 8A

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a memory including a current amplifieraccording to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain details are set forth below to provide a sufficientunderstanding of embodiments of the invention. However, it will be clearto one skilled in the art that embodiments of the invention may bepracticed without these particular details. Moreover, the particularembodiments of the present invention described herein are provided byway of example and should not be used to limit the scope of theinvention to these particular embodiments. In other instances,well-known circuits, control signals, timing protocols, and softwareoperations have not been shown in detail in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a clock generator circuit 200 according to anembodiment of the invention. The clock generator circuit 200 includescomponents previously described with reference to FIG. 1. For example,the clock generator circuit includes the input buffer circuit 104,coarse and fine delay line circuits 108 and 112, clock driver circuit124, output buffer circuit 126, phase detector circuit 134, delay model132, and delay line control circuit 138 as previously described withreference to the clock generator circuit 100. A forward clock pathincludes the input buffer circuit 104, coarse and fine delay linecircuits 108, 112, and the clock driver circuit 124. More generally, aforward clock path refers to a portion of a DLL where a clock signalpropagates forward from an input to the output of the DLL, and typicallyincludes the adjustable delays and an output clock driver circuit. Theclock generator circuit 200 further includes a feedback clock path 210according to an embodiment of the invention. As will be described inmore detail below, the feedback clock path 210 removes circuitry fromthe forward path of a DLL while also providing power savings benefitsand DCC capability.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the feedback clock path 210 includesa static tOH trim circuit 214 coupled to the clock driver 124 to receivethe delayed clock signal and provide tOH trim (i.e., to trim static dutycycle of the clock signal). The static tOH trim circuit 214 provides atrimmed clock signal to both a clock divider circuit 218 and to a DCCcontrol circuit 226. A divided clock signal provided by the clockdivider circuit 218 is delayed by a delay model 132, which models adelay of at least a portion of the forward path, for example, thepropagation delays of the input buffer circuit 104 and the output buffercircuit 126. A model delayed clock signal is provided to the phasedetector circuit 134 for phase comparison to the input clock signal tothe coarse delay line circuit 108. Adjustment of the delay of the delayline circuits 108, 112 by delay line control circuit 138 based on aphase difference between the clock signals compared by the phasedetector circuit 134 is as previously described with reference to theclock generator circuit 100.

The trimmed clock signal provided to the DCC control circuit 226 is usedby DCC control circuit 226 to provide a control signal for DCCadjustment circuit 230 to correct duty cycle error. The DCC controlcircuit 226 receives the trimmed clock signal having the same frequencyas the clock signal output by the clock generator circuit 200 (i.e., a“full-speed” clock signal, in contrast to the divided clock signalprovided to the model delay circuit 132 having a lower frequency). Insome embodiments, the DCC adjustment circuit 230 corrects duty cycleerror by adjusting a clock driver circuit (not shown) to increase ordecrease slew-rate of the clock signal provided to the coarse delay linecircuit 108. In some embodiments, the DCC adjustment circuit 230corrects duty cycle error by adjusting a trigger level for a clockdriver circuit to trigger at a level that results in an output clocksignal having an adjusted duty cycle. Other circuits for adjusting theduty-cycle of the clock signal may be used as well in other embodiments.In some embodiments, the DCC adjustment circuit 230 may be placed afterthe coarse delay line circuit 108 instead of before it.

In operation, the feedback clock path 210 provides static tOH trimming,DCC, and reduced power consumption compared to using only a feedbackclock signal having the same frequency as a clock signal output by theclock generator circuit 200 by using clock division to provide the delaymodel circuit 132 with a lower frequency clock signal. The lowerfrequency clock signal causes fewer transitions of the phase detectorcircuit 134 circuitry, resulting in lower power consumption. Using afull-speed clock signal for the DCC may provide faster duty-cyclecorrection due to the greater number of clock transitions compared to adivided clock signal. Taken out of the forward clock path, the gatecount in the forward clock path is reduced but nonetheless the feedbackclock path 210 provides power savings and DCC. That is, the gate countattributed to an enabled DCC adjustment circuit and static tOH trimbetween the fine delay line 112 and the output are removed. Althoughgates are added into the forward clock path by the DCC adjustmentcircuit 230, the net number of in the forward clock path may be reduced.Having a lower gate count in the forward clock path may improve theresponsiveness of the DLL obtaining a locked condition because theoverall propagation delay of the clock signal to be output is reduced.

FIG. 3 illustrates a clock generator circuit 300 according to anembodiment of the invention. In contrast to the clock generator circuit200 of FIG. 2, the clock generator circuit 300 includes a feedback clockpath 310. The feedback clock path 310 includes a static tOH trim circuit314 coupled to the clock driver 124 to receive the delayed clock signaland provide tOH trim. The static tOH trim circuit 314 provides a trimmedclock signal to both the model delay 132 and a clock divider circuit318. A divided clock signal provided by the clock divider circuit 318 isused by the DCC control circuit 326 to provide a control signal for DCCadjustment circuit 330 to correct duty cycle error.

In operation, the feedback clock path 310 provides static tOH trimming,DCC and reduced power consumption compared to using only a full-speedfeedback clock signal. Reduced power consumption results from using alower frequency clock signal for DCC. The lower frequency clock signalcauses fewer transitions of the DCC control circuit 326 circuitry,resulting in lower power consumption. Providing a full-speed clocksignal through the model delay 132 to the phase detector circuit 134 forphase detection may provide faster and more responsive delay adjustmentof the coarse and fine delay lines 108, 112 due to the greater number ofclock transitions compared to a lower frequency clock signal. Taken outof the forward clock path, the gate count in the forward clock path isreduced but the feedback clock path 210 nonetheless provides benefits ofpower savings and DCC.

FIG. 4 illustrates a clock generator circuit 400 according to anembodiment of the invention. In contrast to the clock generator circuits200 and 300, the clock generator circuit 400 includes a feedback clockpath 410. The feedback clock path 410 includes a clock divider circuit418 coupled to the clock driver 124 to receive the delayed clock signaland provide a divided clock signal having a frequency lower than thatoutput by the clock generator circuit 400. The divided clock signal isprovided to a static tOH trim circuit 414 for tOH trimming. A tOHtrimmed clock signal is provided to the model delay 132 which models adelay for at least a portion of the forward clock path. The delayedclock signal is provided to the phase detector circuit 134 for phasecomparison to the input clock signal and adjustment of the delay of thedelay line circuits 108, 112 by delay line control circuit 138. Thedelayed clock signal is further provided to the DCC control circuit 426and is used to provide a control signal for DCC adjustment circuit 430to correct duty cycle error.

In operation, the feedback clock path 410 provides tOH trimming, DCC andreduced power consumption compared to using only a full-speed feedbackclock signal. Reduced power consumption results from using a lowerfrequency clock signal for tOH trimming, phase comparison (through themodel delay circuit 132), and DCC.

Although a tOH trim circuit is shown in feedback clock paths 210, 310,and 410, other embodiments may not include a tOH trim circuit in thefeedback clock path. The tOH trim circuit may be included in the forwardclock path, for example, included in a DCC adjustment circuit that is inthe forward clock path of a clock generator circuit. As such, thepresent invention should not be limited to embodiments having a tOH trimcircuit included in a feedback clock path.

FIG. 5 illustrates a clock divider circuit 500 according to anembodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, the clock dividercircuit 500 is substituted for the clock divider circuits of clockgenerator circuits 200, 300, and 400. The clock divider circuit 500receives an input clock signal Clk and its complement clock signal ClkF,and can be configured to provide an output clock signal ClkDivn having afrequency 1/n of the input clock signal.

The clock divider circuit 500 includes an output stage 510 and clockdivider stages 520, 530(1)-530(n). The output stage 510 includesinverter 512 that provides an input to a clocked output driver 513. Asshown in the embodiment of FIG. 5 the clocked output driver 513 includestwo clocked inverters 514, 516 clocked by the Clk, ClkF signals, and aninverter 518. Each of the clocked inverters 514, 516 are active for adifferent phase of a clock cycle of the Clk, ClkF signal. That is, theclocked inverter 514 is active in response to LOW Clk and HIGH ClkFsignals whereas the clocked inverter 516 is active in response to HIGHClk and LOW ClkF signals. In this manner, either the inverted input ofclocked inverter 514 or of clocked inverter 516 is driven to be theoutput clock signal ClkDivn. In other embodiments alternative outputdrivers may be used. The clock divider stage 520 includes latch circuits522, 524 clocked by Clk, ClkF signals. The output of the latch circuit522 may be fed back to the input of the latch circuit 524 throughmultiplexer 528, which is controlled by control signals Even, EvenF.Logic 526 couples the input of the latch circuit 522 to receive thecomplement of the output of the latch circuit 524 where n is even or toreceive the logical combination of the output of the latch circuit 524and a feed forward clock signal from a next clock divider stage 530(1)where n is odd. The clock divider stages 530(1)-(n) include latchcircuits 532 and 534 clocked by Clk, ClkF signals and a multiplexer 536.A last clock divider stage 530(n), however, may not include themultiplexer so that a feedback clock signal is provided directly to theinput of the latch circuit 534. The multiplexers 528, 536 are controlledby respective complementary control signals En2, En2F for clock dividerstage 520, En34, En34F for clock divider stage 530(1), En56, En56F forclock divider stage 530(2) to configure the clock divider circuit 500 todivide the Clk signal by a desired n.

FIG. 6A illustrates the clock divider circuit 500 configured to dividethe Clk signal by 3. The clock divider circuit 500 is configured in themanner shown in FIG. 6A by having control signals En34, En34F set themultiplexer 536 of the clock divider stage 530(1) to feed back theoutput signal from the latch circuit 522 to the input of the latchcircuit 534. The Even, EvenF signals are set for an odd n value (i.e.,n=3) to feed the output of the latch circuit 534 forward to be combinedin the logic 526 with the output of the latch circuit 524. As previouslydiscussed, the latch circuits 522, 524, 532, 534 and the clockedinverters 514, 516 are clocked by the Clk, ClkF signals. Assuming thatthe latch circuits 522, 524, 532, 534 are falling edge latches, thelogic level of an input signal is latched and output in response to aLOW level of a clock signal applied to a CLK node of the latch circuit.

In the configuration of FIG. 6A, the latch circuit 522 outputs a LOWlogic level FallDir signal at T0, which in turn causes the latch circuit534 to output a LOW Q1 signal in response to the LOW Clk signal at T1.The LOW Q1 signal causes the logic 526 to provide a HIGH Q3 signal. Upona HIGH Clk signal at T2, the latch circuit 522 outputs a HIGH FallDirsignal. The inverter 512 provides a LOW FallDirF signal in response,which is in turn inverted again and output by the clocked inverter 514in response to the LOW Clk signal at T3. The inverter 518 inverts theHIGH signal into a LOW ClkDiv3 signal. As previously discussed, the LOWQ1 signal is output by the latch circuit 534 at T1. In response to theHIGH Clk signal at T2, the latch circuit 532 provides a LOW Q2 signal,which is then output by the latch circuit 524 as a LOW RiseDirF signalin response to the LOW Clk signal at T3. The clocked inverter 516 is notactive, however, until the HIGH Clk signal at T4, at which time, the LOWRiseDirF signal output by the latch circuit 524 is inverted once andthen again by the inverter 518 to maintain a LOW ClkDiv3 signal. Also atT3, as previously discussed the latch circuit 534 outputs a HIGH Q1signal (in response to the HIGH FallDir signal), which is output as aHIGH Q2 signal at T4, and then output as a HIGH RiseDirF signal inresponse to the LOW Clk signal at T5. At T6 when the Clk signaltransitions HIGH, the clocked inverter 516 is activated to provide a LOWClkDiv3F signal, which is inverted to a HIGH ClkDiv signal.

At T5 when the HIGH RiseDirF signal is output by the latch circuit 524,the output Q3 provided by the logic 526 transitions LOW because bothinputs (Q1 and RiseDirF) are HIGH logic levels. At the HIGH Clk signalat T6, the latch circuit 522 outputs a LOW FallDir signal to the latchcircuit 534, which provides a LOW Q1 signal in response to the LOW Clksignal at T7. The LOW Q1 signal causes the logic 526 to provide a HIGHQ3 signal as well. At the HIGH Clk signal T8 the latch circuit 522provides a HIGH FallDir signal due to the HIGH Q3 signal, which isinverted by the inverter 512 to provide a LOW FallDirF signal. Inresponse to the LOW Clk signal at T9 the clocked inverter 514 isactivated and provides a HIGH ClkDiv3F signal, which is then invertedinto a LOW ClkDiv3 signal.

In summary, a falling edge of the ClkDiv3 signal occurs at T3, a risingedge occurs at T6, that is, 1½ clock cycles of the Clk signal, and afalling edge of the ClkDiv3 signal occurs at T9, which is 1½ clockcycles after the rising edge at T6. The resulting clock period of theClkDiv3 signal is 3 clock cycles of the Clk signal and has a clockfrequency ⅓ of the Clk signal. In general, the clock divider 500 isconfigured to insert half-clock cycles of the Clk signal using the latchcircuits of the clock divider stages 520, 530(1)-(n) (depending on thedesired n) to extend the period of the RiseDirF signal and provide aphase relationship between the FallDirF and RiseDirF signals to have thefalling edges of the FallDirF signal spaced evenly between the risingedges of the RiseDirF signals.

FIG. 6C illustrates the clock divider circuit 500 configured to dividethe Clk signal by 4. With reference to FIG. 5, the clock divider circuit500 is configured in the manner shown in FIG. 6C by having controlsignals En34, En34F set the multiplexer 536 of the clock divider stage530(1) to feed back the output signal from the latch circuit 522 to theinput of the latch circuit 534. The Even, EvenF signals are set for aneven value (i.e., n=4) so that the logic 526 behaves as an inverter forthe output of the latch circuit 524.

Operation of the clock divider circuit 500 of FIG. 6C is similar to thatas previously described with reference to FIG. 6A, except that the inputto the latch circuit 522 is based only on the output from the latchcircuit 524. For example, a HIGH FallDir signal output by the latchcircuit 522 in response to a HIGH Clk signal causes a falling edge ofthe ClkDiv4 signal in response to a LOW Clk signal. Two clock cycles ofthe Clk signal elapse before the HIGH FallDir signal propagates throughlatch circuits 534, 532, 524, and the clocked inverter 516, and causes arising edge of the ClkDiv4 signal. With the output of the latch circuit522 relying only on the output of the latch circuit 524, another twoclock cycles elapses before another falling edge of the ClkDiv4 signalresults from the next HIGH FallDir signal. As a result, the period ofthe ClkDiv4 signal is 4-clock cycles of the Clk signal and has a clockfrequency ¼ the Clk signal.

As illustrated by the previous examples, the clock divider circuit 500can be configured to divide clock signals by both even and odd values ofn. Moreover, for odd values of n, the duty cycle error of the ClkDivnsignal is 1/n of the duty cycle error of the input Clk signal.

FIG. 7 illustrates a clock divider circuit 700 according to anembodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, the clock dividercircuit 700 is substituted for the clock divider circuits of clockgenerator circuits 200, 300, and 400. The clock divider circuit 700includes an output stage 710 and a plurality of clock divider stages720(1)-720(n). The output stage 710 includes clocked inverters 712 and714, each of which is active for a different phase of a clock cycle ofthe Clk, ClkF signal. In this manner, either the inverted input ofclocked inverter 712 or of clocked inverter 714 is driven to be theoutput clock signal ClknF. Each of the clock divider stages720(1)-720(n) includes latch circuits 722 and 724, both clocked by theClk, ClkF signals. Inputs of the latch circuits are coupled to receivean output from a previous clock divider stage, or if a first clockdivider stage, to receive the ClknF signal output by the output stage710. The clock divider circuit 700 can be configured to divide the Clkfrequency by both even and odd n values. Also, the duty cycle error ofthe ClknF signal is 1/n of the duty cycle error of the input Clk signalof odd values of n. As will be describe in more detail below, the clockdivider circuit 700 provides a ClknF signal having a frequency of 1/n ofthe Clk signal by using n clock divider stages 720.

Operation of the clock divider circuit 700 will be described withreference to FIG. 8A, which is an embodiment configured to divide theClk signal by 3, and the timing diagram of FIG. 8B. At time T0, theClk3F signal transitions HIGH and is latched by the LOW Clk signal at T0by latch circuit 724(3) and then by the HIGH Clk signal at T1 by latchcircuit 722(3). Also at T1, the latch circuit 724(2) latches the HIGHoutput from latch circuit 724(3), which is then latched in response tothe LOW Clk signal at T2 and output to the clocked inverter 714 by thelatch circuit 724(1). With the Clk signal LOW, however, the clockedinverter 714 is inactive and thus the Clk3F signals continues to beHIGH. The HIGH Clk3F signal continues to propagate through latchcircuits 722(2) and 722(1) to the clocked inverter 712 in response tothe LOW Clk signal at T2 and the HIGH Clk signal at T3, respectively.With the Clk signal HIGH at T3, the clocked inverter 712 is inactive.However, the clocked inverter 714 becomes active, inverting the HIGHoutput from the latch circuit 724(1) at T3 to a falling edge of theClk3F signal.

The LOW Clk3F signal is fedback and latched by latch circuits 722(3) and724(3) in response to the HIGH Clk signal at T3 and in response to theLOW Clk signal at T4, respectively. The LOW Clk3F signal propagatesthrough the latch circuits 724(2) and 724(1) in response to the HIGH Clksignal at T5 and then the LOW Clk signal at T6. The LOW Clk3F signalsimilarly propagates through the latch circuits 722(2) and 722(1) at T4and T5, respectively. With the Clk signal LOW at T6, the clockedinverter 714 is inactive but the clocked inverter 712 is active,inverting the output from the latch circuit 722(1) into a rising edge ofthe Clk3F signal. As at T0 and T1, the rising edge of Clk3F is feedbackto be latched by the latch circuits 724(3) and 722(3) at T6 and T7,respectively.

As illustrated by the previously described example of dividing the Clksignal by 3, the output clock signal ClknF is fedback to be propagatedthrough the n clock divider stages 720 in accordance with the Clksignal. As a result, the number of clock divider stages 720 throughwhich the output clock signal propagates corresponds to the number ofhalf clock cycles of the Clk signal for a half period of the outputclock signal ClknF. As the fedback output clock signal propagatesthrough the clock divider stages 720, the output stage switches back andforth between inverting the output of the latch circuit 722(1) and thelatch circuit 724(1) in accordance with the Clk, ClkF signals to providethe level of the ClknF signal. The rising and falling edges of the ClknFsignal result from the transitions of the fedback output clock signalpropagating through to the output stage 710.

FIG. 9 illustrates a portion of a memory 900 according to an embodimentof the present invention. The memory 900 includes an array 902 of memorycells, which may be, for example, volatile memory cells, non-volatilememory cells, DRAM memory cells, SRAM memory cells, flash memory cells,or some other types of memory cells. The memory 900 includes a commanddecoder 906 that receives memory commands through a command bus 908 andprovides corresponding control signals within the memory 900 to carryout various memory operations. A clock buffer 904 receives externalclock signals CLK, CLK/and provides internal clock signals CLKIN,CLKIN/that are used for internal timing of the memory 900. Row andcolumn address signals are applied to the memory 900 through an addressbus 920 and provided to an address latch 910. The address latch thenoutputs a separate column address and a separate row address.

The row and column addresses are provided by the address latch 910 to arow address decoder 922 and a column address decoder 928, respectively.The column address decoder 928 selects bit lines extending through thearray 902 corresponding to respective column addresses. The row addressdecoder 922 is connected to word line driver 924 that activatesrespective rows of memory cells in the array 902 corresponding toreceived row addresses. The selected data line (e.g., a bit line or bitlines) corresponding to a received column address are coupled to aread/write circuitry 930 to provide read data to a data output buffer934 via an input-output data bus 940. Write data are applied to thememory array 902 through a data input buffer 944 and the memory arrayread/write circuitry 930.

The memory 900 includes clock generator circuits 950 that provideduty-cycle corrected clock signals to the output buffer 934 and theinput buffer 944. The clock generator circuits may be implemented by aclock generator circuit according to an embodiment of the invention, forexample, the clock generator circuits 200, 300, 400 previouslydescribed. The clock generator circuits 950 receive the CLKIN, CLKINFsignals and provide output clock signals having corrected duty cycles.The output clock signals are provided to the output and input buffers734, 744 to clock the respective buffers to output and input data. Clockgenerator circuits according to embodiments of the invention may beincluded in the memory 900 for other applications as well. The commanddecoder 906 responds to memory commands applied to the command bus 908to perform various operations on the memory array 902. In particular,the command decoder 906 is used to provide internal control signals toread data from and write data to the memory array 902.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is notlimited except as by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A dynamic random access memory, comprising: amemory array; a read/write circuit coupled to the memory array andconfigured to read data from and write data to the memory array; abuffer coupled to the read/write circuit and configured to be clockedaccording to an output clock signal; and a clock generator circuitcoupled to the buffer and configured to provide the output clock signal,the clock generator circuit comprising: a forward clock, path configuredto delay an input clock signal by an adjustable delay adjusted based atleast in part on a feedback clock signal and further configured toprovide the output clock signal; a duty cycle correction circuitconfigured to adjust a duty cycle of a clock signal of the forward clockpath based at least in part on a duty cycle control signal; and afeedback clock path coupled to the forward clock path and configured toreceive the output clock signal, the feedback clock path configured toprovide a first feedback clock signal having a frequency lower than afrequency of the output clock signal and on which the adjustable delayof the forward clock path is based at least in part, and the feedbackclock path further configured to provide a second feedback clock signalbased at least in part on the output clock signal and having a sameclock frequency as the output clock signal and configured to provide theduty cycle control signal to the duty cycle correction circuit, the dutycycle control signal based at least in part on the second feedback clocksignal.
 2. A dynamic random access memory, comprising: a first signalpath configured to delay an input clock signal to provide a delayedclock signal, the delay based, at least in part, on a feedback clocksignal; a second signal path configured to receive the delayed clocksignal and to provide the feedback clock signal, the feedback clocksignal based, at least in part, on the delayed clock signal, wherein thefeedback clock signal has a different frequency than the delayed clocksignal; and a third signal path configured to receive the delayed clocksignal and to provide a control signal to adjust a duty cycle of a clocksignal of the first signal path, the control signal based, at least inpart, on the delayed clock signal.
 3. A dynamic random access memory,comprising: a forward path configured to operate according to a firstclock frequency and to delay an input clock signal based, at least inpart, on a delay clock signal to provide an output clock signal; and afeedback path configured to operate according to a second clockfrequency and to receive the output clock signal, the feedback pathfurther configured to provide the delay clock signal and a duty cyclecorrection control signal based, at least in part, on the output clocksignal and to adjust a duty cycle of a clock signal of the forward pathaccording to the duty cycle correction control signal.
 4. In a dynamicrandom access memory, a method, comprising: delaying an input signalwith a forward path according to a feedback signal to provide an outputsignal; providing the output signal to a first feedback path and asecond feedback path; providing the feedback signal with the firstfeedback path, the feedback signal based, at least in part, on theoutput signal; adjusting a duty cycle of a clock signal of the forwardpath according to a control signal provided by the second feedback path,the control signal based, at least in part, on the output signal; andproviding data from a buffer according to the output signal.